Official calls for global efforts to contain ChinaDEFENSE BUILDUP: Taipei aims to bolster information sharing with allies, build up its war reserves and protect key infrastructure, a vice defense minister saidStaff writer, with CNA in RICHMOND, VirginiaDeputy Minister of National Defense Wang Shin-lung (王信龍) on Monday called for global efforts to contain Chinese security threats, including through joint military exercises, a strategic communication platform and the sharing of drone signals. However, China has continued its expansion and is bound to seriously affect regional and global security, Wang said. Deputy Minister of National Defense Wang Shin-lung attends the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday. “How we make the best use of our limited defense budget in a timely fashion to boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities in the coming years will be the most critical task we face,” he said. Aside from the official Taiwan delegation led by Wang, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) also sent a delegation led by its head of international affairs, Alexander Huang (黃介正).

Border reopening to go ahead despite caseloadNO LETUP: Yesterday’s number of cases was 8.6 percent higher than that reported on Tuesday last week and the second-highest count of the Omicron BA.5 outbreakBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe border reopening plan remains unchanged, even though 49,509 new domestic COVID-19 infections were reported, the second-highest since the wave of cases involving the Omicron BA.5 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 began in August, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said that 49,509 new local cases, 65 imported cases and 31 deaths were confirmed yesterday. He said the local daily caseload was 8.6 percent higher than that reported on Tuesday last week and the second-highest daily count of the Omicron BA.5 outbreak, only slightly lower than the peak of 49,540 cases reported on Sept. 14. He said the fluctuations in daily caseloads has not affected plans for the nation’s border to be reopened on Thursday next week. He said that the COVID-19 prevention and response budget allocated this year was NT$94.3 billion — NT$75.6 billion from the special budget and NT$18.7 billion from the CDC’s annual operating budget — so the proposed budget of NT$84.5 billion is actually NT$9.8 billion less than this year.

TPP axes Jhubei mayoral candidateBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday expelled its mayoral candidate for Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) after he was allegedly involved in a drunk-driving incident. Lin Guan-nian, who was then the Taiwan People’s Party candidate for mayor of Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City, holds a spraypaint can after graffitiing the headquarters of his opponent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Lin Wei-chou, on Sept. 8. Photo from Lin Guan-nian’s Facebook pageThe central committee subsequently passed a resolution to expel Lin from the party, it said. The TPP has a “zero tolerance” policy on drunk driving, and strives to hold its candidates and officials to the highest moral standard, it said. Shen on Monday wrote on Facebook that it was Ko who asked her to work for him, not the other way around.

The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with values of above 50 suggesting expansion and points below the threshold indicating contraction. At the same time, tight COVID-19 controls in China continue to cloud order visibility and weigh on business for local firms, Chen said. Taiwan might follow in the steps of South Korea, a major trade rival, which has reported trade deficits for six months straight, Wang said. The government can help avoid such a scenario by helping industrial sectors to take bolder steps to encourage private consumption. Still, the six-month business measure dropped 2.8 points to 41.1, as most service providers are preparing for a business downturn amid poor consumer confidence.

India’s Reliance Jio to introduce US$183 laptop: sourcesReuters, NEW DELHIReliance Jio Infocomm Ltd will soon launch a laptop priced at just 15,000 rupees (US$183) — one of the cheapest on offer in India, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost phone, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd is known for disrupting businesses with cut-throat price offerings. Jio, its telecoms unit, has been credited with upending the world’s No. A woman in Mumbai, India, waits at a bus stop displaying an advertisement for Reliance Industries’ Jio telecoms unit on July 11, 2017. Jio is India’s biggest telecom carrier, with more than 420 million customers.

Only ‘economic accident’ would cause central bank rate pivot: Allianz adviserBloombergMohamed El-Erian has a cautionary word for anyone anticipating an end to interest-rate increases from the US Federal Reserve and other central banks. “All of you who are looking for a pivot, be careful what you wish for,” the Allianz SE chief economic adviser and Gramercy Funds chairman said on Friday. “This pivot only happens if you have an economic accident or a financial accident, and the journey to an economic accident or a financial accident is a very painful journey,” he said. Allianz SE chief economic advisor Mohamed El-Erian speaks at an event in Cambridge, England, on Nov. 25 last year. “That tension is playing out not just at the domestic level but the international level.”The Bank of England was not the only central bank that has intervened in markets recently, as the Bank of Japan moved to shore up its currency against a soaring US dollar.

South Korea posts longest run of trade deficits since 1997BloombergSouth Korea recorded its longest string of trade deficits since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, as elevated energy and commodity prices resulted in imports continuing to outpace exports. The deficit was US$3.77 billion last month, the sixth straight monthly shortfall, according to data released on Saturday by the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea’s deficit hit a record in August, and its weakening currency further increases troubles for manufacturers. Resilient export growth has been a major factor bolstering the confidence of Bank of Korea board members to keep raising rates. The latest trade data showed that exports to China fell 6.5 percent, and those to the EU were down 0.7 percent last month.

Aluminum falls after record spikeBloombergAluminum on Friday gave up its gains after Thursday’s record surge, with the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) plan to discuss a potential ban on Russian metal exacerbating supply concerns while stimulus measures in China bolstered the demand outlook. Most other metals pared early gains on Friday, with zinc gaining as China stepped up measures to support its embattled property sector. The biggest impact would be on aluminum, as about half of Europe’s smelting capacity already has been curtailed due to record electricity costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, speaking to the demand outlook for industrial metals including copper, China’s factory activity continued to struggle last month, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and a property market downturn. Aluminum was 1.6 percent lower to settle at US$2,162 per tonne on the LME.

What visitors should know about updated entry rulesTaiwan from Thursday is to reinstate visa exemptions for passport holders from 65 countries. The following is a list of answers to common questions regarding how the new regulations are to affect inbound international visitors Which passports will have visa-free entry privileges? Passport holders from Japan, South Korea, Chile, Israel and Nicaragua can stay in Taiwan for up to 90 days without a visa. Passport holders from Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines are to be allowed to stay in Taiwan for 14 days visa-free. Taiwan on Sept. 12 resumed 90-day visa-free entry for passport holders from the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New

Asian markets sink on inflationAP, BEIJINGAsian stocks on Friday sank again after German inflation spiked higher, British Prime Minister Liz Truss defended a tax-cut plan that rattled investors and Chinese factory activity weakened. Global export demand is weakening and Russia’s attack on Ukraine has disrupted oil and gas markets. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.55 percent to 3,024.39 after surveys of manufacturers showed factory production, new export orders and manufacturing employment declined last month. Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 sank 1.23 percent to 6,474.2, losing 1.53 percent for the week, while India’s SENSEX Index rose 1.8 percent to 57,426.92. Traders worry that will push up already high inflation, forcing the British central bank to cool economic growth by raising interest rates further.

Apple ditches plan to boost iPhone 14 productionPRICE POINT: While overall demand has lagged expectations, higher-priced iPhone 14 Pro models appear to attract more attention than entry-level versions, sources said Apple Inc is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, people familiar with the matter said. The Cupertino, California-based company has told suppliers to pull back from efforts to increase assembly of the iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year, said the people, asking not to be named as the plans are not public. Instead, the company would aim to produce 90 million handsets for the period, about the same level as in the second half

He cited global headwinds including the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, and slowdowns in the US and Europe, which are major trading partners for Taiwan. Global demand for many products has waned as inflation elsewhere skyrockets and several major economies face the prospect of a slowdown or recession. August export growth in Taiwan slowed to just 2 percent, the slowest pace in more than two years, prompting Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) to warn at the time that “winter is coming” earlier than expected. Almost 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports went to Hong Kong and China for the first eight months of the year, ministry data showed. Sporadic lockdowns there have dented demand and confidence, becoming a major drag on growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

World Bank head warns of stagflation‘SHARP SLOWDOWN’: The global median income has dropped 4 percent, the first decline since the World Bank begun measuring the indicator in 1990, a report saysReuters, WASHINGTONWorld Bank president David Malpass on Wednesday said that it could take years for global energy production to diversify away from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, prolonging the risk of stagflation, or a period of low growth and high inflation. Those developments would have grave consequences for developing countries, Malpass said, citing what he called “consequential” and “worsening” challenges facing development. A volunteer packs boxes of food for distribution at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington on Oct. 5 last year. Such adjustments would improve the allocation of global capital, providing a path to reduce inflation while restarting growth in median income, he said. More funding for education, health preparedness and adaptation to climate change was urgently needed, he said, along with steps to reduce the staggering debt levels burdening many developing countries.

Sales of gaming monitors to fall for first time: reportUPDATED FORECAST: Consumers are putting off buying monitors due to rising inflation and delayed launches of new high-end graphics cards, TrendForce Corp saidBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterShipments of gaming monitors are expected to plunge 10 percent year-on-year to 20.5 million units this year, which would mark the first decline since the products first entered the market, researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. The researcher in March estimated that gaming monitor shipments would expand at an annual pace of 14 percent to about 26.1 million units this year. Sony Group Corp. Inzone headsets and Inzone gaming monitors displayed during an unveiling event in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Photo: BloombergConsumers are also putting off purchases of gaming monitors due to delayed launches of new high-end graphics cards, the Taipei-based researcher said. The uptake of gaming monitors with ultra-wide displays also helps stimulate demand for curved-display gaming monitors, it said.

PLA not capable of attack ‘for 10 years’HIGH STAKES: An attack on Taiwan could prompt a joint response from the US and Japan, and trigger a global conflict that could bring down the CCP, Liu Tai-ying said The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would not be able to launch an invasion of Taiwan for at least another 10 years, Taiwan Research Institute founder Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) said on Friday. To occupy Taiwan, China needs to transport at least 300,000 to 400,000 troops across the Taiwan Strait during battle, but it would lack the ability to do so for at least another decade, said Liu, a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) treasurer and a close aide to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). The challenges that China would face during an attempted invasion of Taiwan would be even greater than thoseBy Ou Hsiang-yi and William Hetherington